How often do you think about the internet reaching you from the sea? Here in Marseille, we have a crucial piece of that network right beneath our feet. This is IMEWE Seg3.4. It is part of a vast underwater cable system. The India-Middle East-Western Europe cable stretches 12091 kilometers. It links India and Europe through the Middle East.
IMEWE started with a design capacity of 3.84 terabits per second. Mitsubishi Electric upgraded it in 2016. This increased the capacity to 5.6 terabits per second. The cable became operational in December 2010. Imagine the amount of data flowing through this very spot.
The IMEWE cable consists of three fiber pairs. One pair includes a land connection. It links Alexandria and Suez in Egypt. Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks built and maintains the cable. NEC was a subcontractor. The total cost was 480 million US dollars. That is a significant investment in global communication.
The IMEWE consortium includes nine telecom companies. These companies span eight countries. Here in Marseille, Orange S.A. is the operator. Think about the other landing points. They include Catania in Italy. Tripoli in Lebanon. Alexandria and Suez in Egypt. Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Fujairah in the UAE. Karachi in Pakistan and Mumbai in India.
IMEWE is one of three major submarine cables. It connects India and Europe. The others are SMW3 and SMW4. IMEWE plays a key role. It meets the growing bandwidth needs. It serves the Indian subcontinent. It also connects the Middle East to Europe. The IMEWE system boosts broadband services. It benefits many countries.
In 2012, the IMEWE cable system received an upgrade. Mitsubishi Electric supplied 40 Gbps DWDM technology. Then in 2016, another upgrade occurred. Mitsubishi Electric provided 100 Gbps DWDM. This further increased the system’s capacity.
Ciena completed another upgrade in October 2019. They used Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai technology. This deployed 200Gbps per wave. It served the majority of the IMEWE digital line section.
Next time you are online, remember IMEWE Seg3.4. It quietly ensures our digital connections. It links continents beneath the sea. It is a vital part of our global network.